Difference between revisions of "A beginner's guide, lesson 2 - Creating a room"

Before we get started I would like to begin with a little addendum to some advice I offered in [[A beginner's guide, lesson 1 - The Construction Set Primer|Lesson One]]. As I have said, I am a beginner, and it’s always great to receive some tips from one of the pros - in this case a modder called Klinn. I have come across Klinn’s work in connection with Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, and was as thrilled as could be to find that he spared some time to offer some advice regarding the topic of ‘dirty mods’. These are mods which, although well meaning, have unfortunate effects on the whole game world. Something as simple as altering the content of a chest can have a dramatic affect on all the other chests in the game. I should have been clearer about this in lesson one because…

Before we get started I would like to begin with a little addendum to some advice I offered in [[A beginner's guide, lesson 1 - The Construction Set Primer|Lesson One]]. As I have said, I am a beginner, and it’s always great to receive some tips from one of the pros - in this case a modder called Klinn. I have come across Klinn’s work in connection with Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, and was as thrilled as could be to find that he spared some time to offer some advice regarding the topic of ‘dirty mods’. These are mods which, although well meaning, have unfortunate effects on the whole game world. Something as simple as altering the content of a chest can have a dramatic affect on all the other chests in the game. I should have been clearer about this in lesson one because…

'''In lesson one, I wrote:'''

'''In lesson one, I wrote:'''

Always keep backups as you work on your mod. Then if you accidentally move something, it's easy to revert to the last good version without losing too much work. There are ways of using the Details list or possibly other tools (I'm not sure how the Oblivion tools are coming along, there used to be some for Morrowind) to patch up a dirty mod, but it's best to develop working habits to avoid the problem in the first place."

Always keep backups as you work on your mod. Then if you accidentally move something, it's easy to revert to the last good version without losing too much work. There are ways of using the Details list or possibly other tools (I'm not sure how the Oblivion tools are coming along, there used to be some for Morrowind) to patch up a dirty mod, but it's best to develop working habits to avoid the problem in the first place."

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Clearly, if you have no intention of releasing a mod, it makes no difference whether it is dirty or not. But it is good practice to follow the advice given and save, save, save. It is also good practice to follow the advice to look at any mods you are downloading, and scan for the changes it is making. A mod that adds a new building should not change any of the existing buildings or objects. If you see that it has altered one of the standard chests, crates or containers, be very wary of that mod. I would also advise you to keep an eye on the changes you are making, and where necessary record them. The above issue where a building was edited by accident and then corrected will mark the mod as dirty. However a well documented Readme.txt explaining why it shows up as edited could be the difference between a mod being loaded or not.

Clearly, if you have no intention of releasing a mod, it makes no difference whether it is dirty or not. But it is good practice to follow the advice given and save, save, save. It is also good practice to follow the advice to look at any mods you are downloading, and scan for the changes it is making. A mod that adds a new building should not change any of the existing buildings or objects. If you see that it has altered one of the standard chests, crates or containers, be very wary of that mod. I would also advise you to keep an eye on the changes you are making, and where necessary record them. The above issue where a building was edited by accident and then corrected will mark the mod as dirty. However a well documented Readme.txt explaining why it shows up as edited could be the difference between a mod being loaded or not.